1.Being able to drink at airport bars.

And on planes, and trains, and really anything involving transportation. Sure, you knew when you turned 21 that the world was now your (booze-soaked) oyster, but there is really no sensation quite like hearing your flight's delayed and being able to knock back an overpriced Sam Adams instead of fighting fellow passengers for the only outlet at your gate.

2.Buying WHATEVER YOU WANT at the drugstore.

It used to be wicked boring to go as a kid (medicine UGH toilet paper UGH UGH) but now it's a treasure trove of products you never knew you needed. Drawback: Razor blade cartridges cost roughly as much as a midsize sedan.

3.Buying WHATEVER YOU WANT at the grocery store.

Three boxes of cookies? Five different types of cheese? They're yours, boo. (Until you hit your credit limit, because it turns out that fancy cheddar is the razor blade cartridge of the grocery store world.)

15.Realizing that you value solo, unscheduled time more than life itself.

Whether it's a job, kids, projects, or anything else that occupies you, getting to spend one glorious evening not worrying about it is the actual best.

16.And finding yourself doing activities that you never thought you'd love to do alone.

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It's way easier to get one seat at the bar than a whole table in a crowded restaurant, and same goes for A+ last-minute seats at the movies.

17.Learning that being an adult isn't amassing a collection of markers, but an ongoing process.

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Growing up, it can seem like what you're supposed to do is get a job, get a home, get people to surround yourself with, and that was that. The getting is the thing. It's not clear that you don't have to get any of those things, or that once you get them you actually have to DO them, or that they might look drastically different from what you imagined, or that they could all change. You could change! Great. Excellent. Keep doing that.